Mixing your Festive Drinks? Part II - More Christmas Cups ...

In yesterday's post I focussed on beer-related wintery drink mixes or 'cups', but in this one I'll mix in some other non-beer recipes. Some of these will be familiar to some of you although the ingredients and process does vary with time and author so they may not match your own versions or other you have read. All are listed in Oswald Atherton 'Mac' Fleming's 'Gourmet's Book of Food and Drink' published in 1933.

As mentioned in the last piece, some of the ingredients might be hard - or even impossible - to get so some substitution may be required. I have left the recipes in Imperial measures so some conversion may also be required. please note I have paraphrased some of the recipes to make them slightly clearer but left most of the ingredients as stated. Some quantities are for sharing and may need to be decreased as you will see, please act responsibly!

Auld Man’s Milk

Heat a pint of Scotch Ale with a ¼ ounce of cinnamon stick, ¼ ounce of ginger and a ¼ ounce of nutmeg; beat the yolks of two eggs with a little brown sugar and pour the ale mix on top and stir, then add a measure of whisky.

Rumfustian

Heat up a ½ bottle of sherry in a saucepan and add ¼ ounce of bruised cinnamon, ¼ grated nutmeg, 3 bruised cardamom seeds, 2 ounces of sugar and the thin rind of a lemon; whisk up the yolks of 3 eggs with a pint of ale and a pint of gin and pour the strained sherry into the mix while stirring.

Egg Flip

Heat a quart of good ale; beat the yolks of six eggs with ½ a nutmeg and ½ a pound of sugar with a wineglass of whisky or gin; skim the froth from the ale into this mixture and just before it boils pour all the ale into the mix slowly and while stirring.

Lamb’s Wool

Roast eight apples, mash them and add to a quart of old ale, press and strain; add ginger and nutmeg and sweeten to taste.

Hot Spiced Ale

Heat a quart of good ale and add ½ a grated nutmeg; beat two eggs with a little cold ale and add the hot ale while stirring; add a piece of butter and serve with dry toast.

‘Tween Deck Cup

Put ½ dozen cloves in a pint of rum with a little ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and strain after one hour; add an equal quantity of lime juice and 2 quarts of bottled ale.

Bishop a la Cutler

Beat the yolks of two eggs and add a ½ pint of boiling milk followed by a pint of whisky, stirring constantly; sweeten to taste and add a little nutmeg and cloves

Beadle

Pound a ¼ ounce of cinnamon, four cloves and a ½ ounce of ginger together and add to ¼ pound of sugar and a pint of boiling water, then strain; add the mix to the yolks of two eggs, whisking constantly then add a glass of raisin wine and six glasses of ginger wine; serve immediately.

Sleeper

Boil six cloves, ¼ ounce of cinnamon stick, eight coriander seeds and 1 ½ ounces of sugar in a ½ pint of water; strain the mixture and add the juice of ½ a lemon and a ¼ pint of old rum; add the mixture gradually to two egg yolk, whisking as you do; serve immediately.

Baltimore Egg-Nogg

Beat the yolks of three eggs with a ¼ of a grated nutmeg and two ounces of sugar, then add ½ a gill of brandy or rum and a glass of marsala or brown sherry; mix in the whisked whites of the eggs followed by a gill of cream and a pint of milk.

Excellent Negus

Warm a bottle of sherry or port in a saucepan and add 2 ½ pints of water, the juice of one lemon and a little of the peel rubbed in sugar, grated nutmeg, and sugar to taste - followed by one drop of essence of ambergris[!] and ten drops of vanilla essence.

Apple Toddy

Put a baked apple in a heat-proof glass and add one ounce of fine sugar, one gill of brandy, ½ a pint of boiling cider; grate some ginger on top of the mix and add a piece of lemon peel.

So, there's another collect for you to experiment with, just watch those alcohol quantities, and drink cleverly. As with those in my last post I haven't actually tried any of these yet so I have no idea if they actually work or taste any good!

Liam

Gourmet’s Book of Food and Drink by Oswald Atherton Fleming with illustrations by William M. Hendy was published in 1933 by John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd. in London and printed by Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol, England. It is dedicated to his wife, ‘Who can make an omelette’ …

All written content and the research involved in publishing it here is my own unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission, full credit to its original source, and a link back to this post.

Mixing your Festive Drinks? Here are Some Christmas Cups ...

Over the last few years I seem to have accidentally - or perhaps incidentally - amassed an odd collection of drink and cookery-related books, and of these one of my favourites is 'Gourmet's Book of Food and Drink' published anonymously by an enigmatic Scottish journalist called Oswald Atherton 'Mac' Fleming in 1933 with illustrations by William M. Hendy. It’s a very readable volume and contains recipes, memoirs and much idle banter including excerpts from columns he wrote in the London Evening News and also the Sunday Chronicle. Unsurprisingly there is very little Irish content in its pages but it is still an interesting and curious book - and there is a very vague Irish connection in so far as Fleming was married to Dorothy L. Sayers who worked on the Guinness marketing campaign with John Gilroy, and according to some sources even came up with the now famous toucan idea.

In the book Fleming includes a few chapters solely on drinks and what may be of interest at this time of the year are the various recipes for mixed drinks - ‘cups’ - that he has gathered together in two chapters, and given the season I thought it might be a good time to transcribe them here so that perhaps some of you might experiment over the next few festive weeks.

There are over two hundred ‘cup’ recipes in the book covering all manner of alcohol and perhaps half that amount again in punch recipes, but given my interests I will just focus on some of the beer-related ones here.

Before get started I must quote Mr. Fleming and state that ‘ale and beer cups should be made with good sound ale, and drunk from a tankard; being more palatable and presentable in this way than in glasses’, and I wholeheartedly agree.

I will just include the more wintery sounding ones for now, with any ice being very optional. Some of the beers and ingredients might be hard - or even impossible - to get so some substitution may be required. I have left the recipes in Imperial measures so some conversion may also be required. please note I have paraphrased some of the recipes to make them slightly clearer but left most of the ingredients as stated. Some quantities are for sharing and may need to be decreased as you will see, please act responsibly!

Cambridge Ale Cup
Boil 3 pints of water with an ounce each of cloves, cinnamon, mace (all bruised together) for an hour and strain; add 3 ounces of fine sugar with the juice and thin peel of a lemon with 3 pints of good ‘college’ ale and ½ pint of sherry; heat before serving with a thin slice of toast sprinkled with nutmeg.

Jehu’s Nectar
Grate a little ginger into a small glass of gin-and-bitters and pour into a pint of heated good ale, this should be drunk while frothing.

Councillor’s Cup
Rub the rind of two oranges with sugar and steep in a half pint of brandy, then add the juice of one lemon and a ½ pint of orange juice. (Here the recipes states to add a pint of water but I’d suggest a pint of red ale and serve hot, sweetened to taste.)

Porter Cup
Mix ½ a grated nutmeg with a wineglass of sherry and strain after 15 minutes; add to a half a bottle of Claret and a bottle of porter and serve in a jug with a slice of cucumber and a large lump of ice.

Hot Cup
Warm a pint of good ale and add an ounce of sugar, and an ounce of mixed spice plus a glass of sherry; when nearly boiling pour it on a round of buttered toast.

Copus Cup
Roast a lemon full of cloves before a fire until it is dark brown; mix up a quarter pint of brandy, the same of noyeau [French liqueur noyau?] then add a half a stick of cinnamon; put a slice of toast in a bowl and add the lemon on top of it a gently squeeze it; add 4 ounces of fine sugar and two quarts of hot old ale and the spirit mix, leave for 15 minutes and serve.

Ale Cup
Mix a half ounce each of nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon with 3 ounces of brown sugar and beat with the yolk of three eggs; warm a half a gallon of good ale and a half pint of gin and pour into the mix whisking it all together; drink immediately while it is still frothing.

Freemason’s Cup
Mix a pint of Scotch ale, a pint of mild beer, ½ a pint of brandy and a pint of sherry with a ½ pound of sugar-candy and a little grated nutmeg to taste. can be served hot or cold.

Purl or Early Birds
Heat a quart of ale with a tablespoon of ginger and nutmeg; whisk in a gill of cold ale and 2 ounces of sugar with three fresh eggs; when frothy add the warm ale slowly, with a glass of spirits and drink immediately.

Aleberry
Mix 3 spoonful [No size given] of fine oatmeal with a quart of old ale then boil the mix and sweeten; add the juice of one lemon, ½ a grated nutmeg, a little ginger powder, and a half a pint of wine; float a slice of toast on top before serving.

Ale Posset
Add a round of buttered toast to a quart of old ale; add grated nutmeg to the toast and a little sugar, then one pint(!) of sherry and serve hot.

Sir Walter Raleigh’s Ale Posset
Mix a ½ pint of dry white sherry with a ½ pint of good ale; add a quart of boiled cream that has been flavoured with spices and strain through a fine cloth - seemingly a favourite remedy for colds…!

So, there are 12 for starters, I’ll put up some more in the next post. I must admit I haven’t tried any of these yet and as mentioned the volumes stated will need adjusting for solo drinkers.

Er, enjoy…?

Liam

Gourmet’s Book of Food and Drink by Oswald Atherton Fleming with illustrations by William M. Hendy was published in 1933 by John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd. in London and printed by Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol, England. It is dedicated to his wife, ‘Who can make an omelette’ …

All written content and the research involved in publishing it here is my own unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission, full credit to its original source, and a link back to this post.

Travel: Bonn, Germany Part I - Christmas Markets, Castles and Beethoven's Birthplace!

So here we go again...

I have a reoccuring fear that our annual pilgrimage to a Christmas market each December has become so regular that it is in danger of becoming boring. Even though we usually pick somewhere away from the normal tourist crowds, I was still worried that wherever we chose this year would just be the same as every other trip - like some kind of Every-Weihnachtsmarkt, Germany ... with the same old stalls selling the same old items.

I would hate for that sameness to creep in to our trips, so we put a bit of thought and research into our destinations from year to year...

Bonn isn't on the list of names trotted out each year when people think about a city to visit at this time of year, especially when the tourist magnet of Cologne is just up the road. But as ever - and because of my above mentioned fear of boredom - we chose to venture on the less travelled path, and Bonn was somewhere we knew very little about so it ticked that box in my travel-needs list. That combined with its ease of access via a couple of decent airports and affordable - and available - accomodation, plus a walkable looking city centre with a decent sized market that sprawled across a few streets and squares, meant we took a chance...

And we were glad we did.

At the Christmas market itself the quality and variety of the stalls were superb, it seemed that the various stall holders were vying with each other to produce bigger displays or better products, all presented with that welcome bit of theatre that is essential at this time of year. Most noticeable was  that, apart from a couple of the usual suspects, most of what we saw was local or at least local-ish, plus the quality of everything from the food to the gifts and drinks were all excellent. We were impressed with all the handmade items such as jewelry, pottery and wood carvings, although admittedly a lot of it was in the higher price bracket but it still appeared to be value for money.

The food ranged from plank-cooked salmon (top right below) to flammkuchen and of course plenty of wursts! From vegetarian dishes to roast pork and bacon there was a food-type here for everyone. There was plenty for the sweet toothed too, with our favourite being the flavoured, marshmallow filled Schokoküsse ... we even saw a churro stand! As well as the usual mulled wine there were plenty of standard drinks available and I had my first mulled Belgian beer, a really good Liefmans Kriek served in the correct glassware!

The market stretches from Münsterplatz and Bottlerplatz, along adjoining streets to Friedensplatz and with 180 stalls there's plenty of choice ... but it gets very busy at night so I'd recommend heading out to a bar or a restaurant for a drink or a bite away from the city centre if it gets too hectic. (More on this option in my next post.) 

There's more than the Christmas market to see in Bonn of course, as there are plenty of sights too, although on this kind of trip I find that it's nice just to wander the streets and keep the agenda to a minimum. But one building that's literally impossible to miss is the huge multi-towered Bonner Münster - The Basilica of St. Cassius and Florentius - on Münsterplatz (obviously!) although sadly it was closed for renovations when we visited but we did get to look around the beautiful cloister. (Curiously enough they have built a glass office at the side of the church and placed someone in it whose only job appears to be telling people that the building is closed!)

Bonn is also the birthplace of Beethoven, a fact that's hard to miss given how his name is plastered everywhere and not-so-cheery statues of good old Ludwig abound, including the imposing one on Münsterplatz where he scowls down from his plinth at the christmas merrymakers. The self-guided tour of the museum and house of his birth (picture below) is quite interesting, and is full of items and pictures connected to him. It's a pleasant way to kill an hour or so and a must-do for anyone interested in such an important composer.

The city is a great place for retail therapy too with plenty of mid- and high-end brands available, and a nice touch for Christmas is that each of the main shopping streets in the main part of the city have their name in lights. Walking these streets you'll notice that most of the city was destroyed in the war but some old building remain such as the Knusperhäuschen (centre below), and there are plenty of interesting statues and fountains around to take that raw edge off the city. Bonn also boasts an excellent food market on Marktplatz ( More original naming!) and a nice little flower market close by.

There are many other sights too that we missed or hadn't time to see, I've included a link to the Bonn tourism website below to show what else there is to see and do.

Our other reason for staying in Bonn was to visit the magnificent Schloss Drachenburg with its stunning views over the Rhine. The castle is a wonderfully over-the-top, turreted masterpiece and certainly has a serious fairytale quality. It was built in just three years from 1882 to 1884 half way between the town of Königswinter and the older castle at the top of the hill called Drachenfels - Dragon's Rock! Sadly there was a lot of cloud and mist when we visited so we had to strain our eyes to see the river winding its way in either direction below us...

We got there by taking tram 66 from the city centre to Königswinter Fähre and then it's just a short walk to the funicular railway that take you up to the castle. We timed our visit to coincide with a Dickens' style Christmas market that was taking place in the grounds and a light show that bathed the building in colour. The house itself is full of wonderful stained glass, carvings and unbelievably detailed workmanship, murals and paintings. I'd imagine it's just as stunning in summer so whenever you visit Bonn it would be worth going, and perhaps in summer you can abandon the train and climb all the way to the top! (Check the website for opening times - I've included the link below.)

So ... Bonn might not have been on your radar up to now but I would seriously recommend a visit, and in truth we only scratched the surface of what can be seen, as time, the Christmas market and the need to eat and drink were our enemy as usual!

It could certainly figure in your Christmas market shortlist for next year ... don't forget to try the mulled kriek!

Next up will be a post about the beer and food we had during our visit...

Liam

Links:
Christmas Market
Bonn Tourist Information
Schloss Drachenburg

Travel: Christmas Market, Wiesbaden, Germany - Sated Senses, Steam and Sustenance

The spectacular living Poinsettia Tree in the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden

I'm not a big Christmas fanatic...

In fact I have a slight Scrooge-like attitude to all the spending and nonsense that's associated with the so-called festive period. This is probably due to spending too long in retail, purchasing and then selling all the shiny Christmas tat that people feel obliged to cover every surface of their house in at that time of year.

But if I'm being honest then I must admit that there are parts I enjoy too, such as seeing how much kids enjoy Christmas, the chance to unashamedly cook goose, wear loud jumpers and play with lasers, LEDs, fibre optics and other ways of lighting up the house and causing my hair to stand on end.

The other big Christmassy thing I do is visiting European Christmas markets, and it's something I really look forward to every year. It's probably because of my deep seated wanderlust, combined with all of the new sights and sounds of course but it's also because a good market waylays your other senses too. The taste of new food, the smell of various roasting meats, or spiced aromas of Christmas tipples ... and the feeling of being wrapped up snuggly in folds of cotton and wool, mingling with my own layer of bacon-laden fat.

But I tend to shy away from the more traditional Christmas market destinations in Germany such as Cologne, Berlin, Stuttgart and Munich and instead try to seek out places off the beaten track, as I hope that these will be slightly less commercial(!), cheaper and most importantly more interesting than the larger ones. I prefer markets that are more local than touristy, which I know is tinged with irony given I am a tourist..

This means that I've seen Düsseldorf, Augsburg, Hamburg - which was a big one admittedly - amongst others, and now Wiesbaden - pronounced 'veece-bah-den'. I visited Vienna too but it was too large for a short trip and although I enjoyed it immensely, I regretted too much the things I had missed ... but vowed to get back there again.

Wiesbaden wouldn't be first on many people's list of Christmas market destinations but that was one of the appealing things of course. It also helped that it is easily and quickly accessible from Frankfurt airport, as a key part of these trips is finding somewhere with early flights in and late flights out to make the most of my precious few days. It's not full of the traditional wood framed house one expects from certain parts of Germany and instead is a pleasant and striking mish-mash of neo-gothic, baroque and other classically flouncy styles.

Okay, I won't bore you with too much detail but here are a few photo highlights from the trip with a few notes...

Marktkirche - An imposing and dramatic brownstone edifice in the centre of the city.

A beautiful art nouveau mural on Bahnhofstraße close to our hotel. It's great to see this type of accessible art sneak into Irish cities too like Limerick and Waterford.

A fantastic food market with a great range of unusual and colourful produce. I'd love it on my doorstep!

Nice brunch in the trendy  Du & Ich - Focaccia with a bottle of Hamburg's finest Astra Urtyp with its mild but bitterly acrid taste.

A Giant cuckoo clock outside a shop whose staff followed us around as if we were shoplifters! Needless to say we bought nothing in the place but I had fun picking stuff up and walking around with it before putting it back on a different shelf, much to the annoyance of said staff.

The remains of some Roman - and not-so-Roman - ruins tucked up a side street, interesting viewing tower too.

One of the many gorgeous buildings dotted around  the city.

We took a break in Der Andechser in the Ratskeller under the Neues Rathaus. I enjoyed a very nice Andechser Dunkel with an ubiquitous pretzel -  my dunkel tasted of bitter malt and ginger, with an acidic-metallic quality and a dash of cola perhaps. The very cool bottling machine sits in the entrance hall, ignored by all but me it seems!

Neues Rathaus and Marktkirche looking elegant on a winter day, viewed from Warmer Damm.

Church doors with the now familiar brownstone of this area of germany.

The fantastic thermal spring on Kochbrunnen Platz. This also explains why we spotted steam escaping from manhole covers around the city, and the rotten egg smell that lingers in this spot!

Bäckerbrunnen - A nice old fashioned bar where I had a very drinkable Diebels Altbier with its very mild ginger and digestive biscuit flavour. 

Extremely well merchandised christmas shops with an obvious slant towards European tastes.

Sternschnuppenmarkt -  The Twinkling Star Christmas Market was packed every evening and full of the usual foods, novelties and decorations. It sprawls in a good way along a number of streets but is easy to get around and well laid out.

Beer and a burger in the excellent Nassau Burger & Beef Company - They stock both German micro beers and a few foreign imports. Its a rustic spot with loads of wood and very friendly staff. I had a Wiesbadener Pale Ale that was mild for the style but extremely tasty with hints of cardamom and ginger biscuit too. I followed this with a Hanscraft & Co. Nizza Wheat Pale Ale  that had a lovely balance of clove and citrus with a bacon-like aftertaste. I paired it with a bacon jam burger cooked medium with the most fantastic fries. The burger itself was nicely pink but a little bit over seasoned, even for me. I finished up on Hanscraft & Co. Backbone Splitter - one of my favourite beers of the trip, bitter as hell with a big kick of spicy grapefruit hops. 

Dunkel in Weihenstephaner on Taunusstraße - It tasted of sweet barley sugar and clove, with brown soda bread. I was also given the Possmann Frau Rauscher Speierling cider by someone who hated it. It was extremely bitter after the beer but really refreshing, reminding me of a Belgian Oude Gueuze!

Maisel & Friends in Spital Bar (Now Closed) - We shared these three Maisel & Friends bottles - The Bavarian Ale was all mandarin oranges, clove and funky cheese with a chewy-sweet finish. The Chocolate Bock tasted of of cocoaed Bovril with maybe a hint of smoked bacon -  rich and chewy too with tons of body. The Pale Ale had a whiff of old cheese with some lemongrass and perhaps custard cream biscuits. All three were excellent, as the suited the mood and company. We also bought a couple of those cool glasses to bring home!

My final morning breakfast of bacon and eggs - naturally - in La Maison du Pain.

The fantastic walk way under Gustav-Stresemann-Ring near Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof - This reminded me so much of the Chagall stained glass windows in Mainz that I posted about here.

So that's a quick photo reel of some of my highlights of Wiesbaden. It's certainly an excellent city to visit for its Christmas market and makes a change from the timbered old-style german towns we normally frequent. It's easy to get to and you'll have plenty to do, we missed out on a couple of places such as Baron von Richthofen's grave and the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Elizabeth to mention just two! Don't forget Mainz and Frankfurt are close too...

You'll find more information on the city here.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Liam